The Final Days of Despair
by Legate Gurt
Summary: Post Infamous 2, bad karma ending. Cole has ravaged most of the world. His army of conduits bigger and more dangerous then ever. He closes in on the final bastion of humanities' only hope. Tera'Blay Canada. There, a powerful conduit resists him. Alex.
1. Despair

Chapter 1: Tera'Blay -

Cole sat on the very crater of when he first got his powers. Practically the only thing that remained intact after the

beast destroyed empire city. He sat cross legged as he looked over the remains and destruction. Cole focused on the crater

around him, this very spot was the start of his legacy. His focus broke when he noticed Kuo zipping from building to

building. She landed in front of him.

" The army has settled into the ruins for the night. The conduits we left in Europe are doing a good job at holding down

the fort and sending any potential conduits our way. Yadge is leading the front down in south America, sending any

conduits our way as well. Raven, you, and I will be leading the assault into Canada. " She gave out her report.

Cole sighed, looking down at the wrecked city.

" And then.. it'll all be over.. We can settle down and re-build the world. A better world, everything will go back to

normal. " She said with dreamy-like eyes.

Cole looked up at her. " It will end here. I promise. We can build a home, settle in. Just you, me, and June. " He trailed

off.

June was a child that was activated in New Marais. She was taken under Cole's wing as her powers developed and she grew

older. Kuo and Cole raised her as though she was their child, they were the mother and father that she never had.

Kuo sat next to Cole. " Do you think we'll meet any sort of threat? "

" No more threat then the other countries could. We'll be fine. "

" Are you okay? "

" I'm.. Tired.. "

" Of what? "

" This world, this place. Once we've cured this place of conduits, we can all finally rest. "

Kuo frowned and kissed him on the cheek. " I'll prepare the army to move. " Cole watched as she zipped off within' seconds

and was gone. He sighed to himself, balling his fists and jumping to his feet.

_Hello. My name is Alexandra Ezell, and I am a conduit. What is a conduit you may ask? All will be explained in due time,_

_let's focus on the beginning, back when I was still young and ignorant, back when things were simple and easy. If knew_

_what were to come then maybe I would have done everything differently. This is my story, my legacy, my dynasty. Whatever_

_you may wish to call it, this is my hell._

_Nearly 5 years after Cole and his army of conduits decimated the United states, heading to the eastern hemisphere as the_

_plague made its way onto European soil. Giving countries like Canada time to prepare for the upcoming threat. He is back,_

_finally ready to cure all conduits and eliminate all others who were not lucky enough. Our world fell to chaos and_

_destruction as world leaders raised up to take advantage of the anarchy. These are the Final Days of Despair. Humanities_

_final hope in a world ravaged by anguish and chaos!_

Machine gun fire hit the bunker as screams of hell echoed off in the distance. Explosion after explosion rained bloody

death all over me. My helmet fell over my face and soon found I was unable to move at all, I sat there helplessly as

sounds of pain and despair screamed all around me. It was madness, a voice called through to me but, it sounded nearly

miles away! " ALEX! ALEX! " Screamed the voice of a women. " HELP ME! " Cried a man from a different direction.

" I... CAN'T! " I screamed out with all my might. At that very moment the sounds of the battlefield all fell silent all at

once. My helmet was pulled from my face and to my surprise I was back in my own room. Nothing was out of place and

everything was neat and clean, this was in-fact NOT my room. A man with a shiny bald head and a scar on his face came into

my vision as he emerged from my closet, pulling out a large knife and smiling an insane grin.

" Time to wake up Alex! " He said all too calmly. Driving the knife down towards my chest and piercing my flesh with great

force.

I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up right and near crying. My alarm sounded its average and annoying tone. " Time to

wake up! Time to wake up! Time to wake up! Time to w- " I slammed my fist into the off button and nearly knocked over the

clock. I hated that alarm but, it was really the only thing that got me up in the morning. I looked up at my ceiling where

the time was projected. 7:45 A.M. 'Damn' I thought to myself as I counted the mini mold signs on my ceiling that dotted

the wall like coffee stains. 'Today is the big day.' I kicked off the covers and crawled to the window. Opening the window

slowly and holding it up with my left hand, I looked out across the busy streets of Tera'Blay. Guards harassing old-folk,

Construction workers yelling about God-knows-what, and car accidents left and right. " Just another day in Hell! " I

yelled out my window, though no one bothered to turn and look.

I slammed my window closed and was soon met by my mother, she hadn't bothered knocking and had already barged into my

room, the scent of fresh pancakes following her in. " Time to get dressed honey! Today is the big day you graduate

High school! " She exclaimed almost too happily.

'What's the point?' I thought quietly to myself. ' It's not like I'm going any where in the world, there's no world left

to see. Besides no one can leave the city, I'll just be getting a job working on the subway or something..' I thought that

everyday in high school, but I didn't dare bring it up with my mom. Some people have had odd ways to cope with the end of

the world, some have slipped into a mental block where they just pretend nothing different has happened. Sadly, my mother

was one of these people and it was direly painful to see her like that. But, I just gave her my fake smile as I do every

morning.

" Something wrong dear? " She asked as she tilted her head.

" Nah, I'm just tired. " I replied quite groggily.

" Alright, I'll let you get ready! And hurry up honey, I made your favorite breakfast downstairs! "

I smiled her a thank you and watched her as she closed my door. I turned to push open my door to my bathroom and found it

was stuck yet again, so I kicked it open and covered my nose. My bathroom smelled like an outhouse, and no one had the

guts to try to clean it. I started up my shower and turned the nozzle to full-heat, hoping there was at least a drop of hot water left. I'd slept in this morning and most of my family had probably already used up the hot water. While I let the water heat up I turned to my T.V. (which is more like a radio in size) and flipped through the various news channels. Ah, Channel 17, a news channel that wasn't afraid to give you all the gory details on what was happening in today's apocalypse.

" So that's it for the weather! Onto today's current events. The pandemic has spread throughout all of the eastern

hemisphere, now not a single country that is confirmed to be clean of the plague. The freak weather storms and natural

disasters have gotten even weirder as they progress throughout the rest of the world. Some reports even show evidence of

large ice storms and freak accidents happening throughout the reported areas. These incidents seem to happen on a major

scale in large city areas. Normally avoiding or skipping over rural areas with less population? Coincidence? Some of our

experts and witnesses disagree! We now go to survivor and witness of the Paris-event. " Buzzed out the reporter.

The screen switched to a very twitchy and homeless looking man with a glass eye and a beard that touched down to his

waste.

" Tell us what you saw. "

" It was horrible! Men and women with super powers! Raging through our streets! Killing all who stood in their way! Some

spat fire from their fists, others picked up cars with their sheer mind powers! "

" Are you actually telling us that the freak storms and natural disasters are in fact- " The reporter stopped to smirk a

little bit and then returning to his question. " Super people? " Some laughs were heard in the background of the studio.

" I swear they're real! Coming from the skies and killing people, endless killing! Their leader is terrible, an awful and

scarred man with the ability to force humans to join his hellish army! " The man was obviously crazy and fanatical.

" Alright, well this interview is over. Thanks anyway you crazy coot! " The reporter laughed out.

I smirked a little myself, the whole idea of super villains taking over the world was quite amusing. I switched off the

T.V. and went over to the shower.

The water was, of course, freezing. But, I finished it in record time and got dressed as quickly as I could. I rushed down

my stairs and stopped dead in my tracks on step 13. I had always remembered the step for it was my favorite step. I turned

to my left and looked through the small opening the door left. Inside was a beautiful baby laying peacefully in his crib

without a care in the world I just wish he didn't have to grow up in the hell hole. He was my latest baby brother and I

loved him with every fiber of my being. My dad gave him the name Tim, a comical reference to Tiny Tim, but a strong spirit

tiny Tim did have. I slowly opened up the door to check in on him.

The room was peaceful with pillows and comfy things decorating the room. I could fall asleep in here and take a nap that

could last a life time. I rested my arms on Tim's crib and just watched him sleep so happily. My peaceful meditation was

interrupted as my father walked in on me. My dad was a big and strict man, but had a strong caring side to him. He was away

on business during most of my childhood, but there was no bad thoughts about him. I felt good knowing that Tim would have

a father I always wished for. He leaned next to me on the crib and smiled.

" Hey sport, I hear today is the day you finish off high school. " He said to me in his low and calm tone.

" Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. " I said sarcastically.

" I understand what you're thinking. But you should be grateful that we live in relative peace and still have the ability

to go to school. "

" I know. " I accepted his reasoning. Tera'Blay may not be perfect but, it wasn't like Empire City.

My dad looked down at Timmy. " He's cute isn't he? "

" Funny, I'm all grown up and Tim is just starting to live. " I laughed.

" Out with the old, in with the new. " My Dad laughed out at his own joke.

I was majorly shocked, I'd rarely seen my father joke around. Even if I set myself up for that one.

" Do you need a ride to the ceremony, sport? " He asked.

" No thanks dad, I'm meeting up with Brian and Allen and we're going to walk there. " I shouldn't have said that. My

father never really approved of me having more male friends then female friends. But, he was cool about it.

" Give them my regards! " He said quickly, as though it pained him to say it.

We hugged each other for a good long time. He had done a good job raising me even though he wasn't around most of the time.

I could sworn I saw a tear fall from his cheek. I left the room and continued down the stairs to the breakfast table.

I caught my other younger brother at the table reading a newspaper with a headline 'U.N. DISBANDS' on it. I gave him a

hello and tried to ignore the headlines, I didn't need more things on my mind. My mom walked in and gave us both a kiss on

the head going back to the stove.

She placed two plates of 'happy breakfast' on the table. Basically a pancake for the face, three bacon strips for a mouth

and eye brows, and three eggs for eyes and a nose. She always gave this to us on special occasions when we were kids. But,

we never had the heart to tell her that we were too old for stuff like this.

" Oh Sal! Put that science fiction book away and eat up! We got a big day ahead of us. " She scolded my brother as he put

down the newspaper.

I ate while I thought about my dream, what could that have meant? If that whole 'All dreams are about sex' Theory that old

guy had. I must be really screwed up. I laughed out loud at the thought and my brother stared at me as if I was crazy. I

finished quickly and wiped my mouth, thanking my mother.

" I'm gonna' meet up with Brian and Allen mom! I'll meet you at the ceremony! " I called out to her as I kicked open my

front door and took a walk down the street.

_I guess I should tell you a little about myself while I walk. I'm rather tall for a woman, almost 5'8 and I'm nearly_

_eighteen. Man, I hope you guys figured that out since I'm graduating high school today. I've got dark brown hair that_

_reaches down to a little past my shoulders and dark green eyes. I'm pretty skinny but, not too skinny. I'm not sure if_

_that description of me works very well but, there you go._

_Oh yeah! About Tera'Blay, it's one of the last major cities of this world that hasn't been hit by freak storms or natural_

_disasters. It's not a utopia however, it's very strict on it's policy of safety and feels the need to be enforced by_

_heavily armed guards. We're split up into three districts of the city, Low-town, mid-town, and high-town. Yes, whoever_

_made up those names must have been highly creative, and no they're not official districts. But, the difference is there in_

_black and white. High-town consists of governors and nobles, basically your really rich families. Mid-town has your middle_

_class families with average jobs and even some lower class families. It's not your perfect suburban area though! The_

_buildings creak and groan, nothing EVER works and things seem to break left and right on you. But, i really guess I_

_shouldn't complain, it's a lot better then living in Low-town. Low-town contains some of the worst of the worst. Slums,_

_basically living in sewage. Boxes and wrecked cardboard shacks litter the area. They house some of the finest thieves,_

_criminals, and unemployed people this city has to offer._

_No it's not perfect, but its a helluva lot safer then it is outside the city walls. So with out further interruption, back_

_to my incredibly interesting walk!_

I walked up and down the different alley ways, walking through traffic, and finally waiting next to a traffic light pole.

I tapped my foot as I constantly checked my watch. '10:47 A.M.' They're late again! Brian and Allen have been my two best

friends since 1st grade and we have met here every day at 10:30 every morning on a day off. And they've always been late.

Well I guess I should describe them to you while I wait for them.

Brian was always the tall, blond, and handsome kind of guy. He had a big chance to be popular at our school multiple times

but, he always stuck with Allen and I through thick and thin. I guess that's what makes a person trust able and 's

always got something funny or sarcastic to add to the group even when times are serious or dark. It's what makes him a

like-able person.

Allen? What can I say? He's the tech expert of our group and a major nerd. Don't get me wrong! I love the guy but, he's

always been the know it all and the 'information about things no one really cares about' guy. He almost never thinks

positively and always has something to say that makes the situation look worse. But, I guess that just means he is realistic about things going on around us. Allen can be a great friend when you need him and will help in any way he can. When the going gets tough! He's normally right there to encourage you to get going!

Sure enough I saw the pair walking casually towards me, laughing about something along the way. They greeted me with a big

smile and we shook each other's hands as though we haven't seen each other in months.

" You guys ready? " Brian asked casually.

" Not really. " Allen grunted.

" Come on guys! It'll be great. Now come on we're going to be late, and I doubt Butch will be very patient if we don't

show. " I said.

" Butch can shove it up his ass! I hate him. " Allen stomped his foot. Allen and Butch have a very colorful past. Butch

being the big bad bully, and Allen being an easy target. I'll let you figure out how the past 11 years were spent.

" I don't even think we should go at all. We'll probably get in trouble for what those kids are planning. Besides! We

should be preparing! " Allen continued.

" Preparing for what? Our graduation? We're just going up there in our robes and taking a piece of paper saying '

Congrats! You managed to pass high school!' And going on with our day. " Brian questioned Allen.

" No no! For the super people! It's been all over the news. Superman is destroying city after city! He'll come for us

eventually! " Me and Brian laughed hard but, stopped when we realized Allen was being serious.

" Come on Allen, you can't really believe all that. Superman is coming to kill us and enslave us to his hellish army! I

mean come on! Let's just go, and drop your crazy bullshit theory. " I chuckled out. If only I knew.

**Cole looked down upon Tera'Blay with hateful eyes. An entire city continues to function through ignorance, he couldn't**

**believe it. Kuo zipped around and landed next to him.**

**" Raven should be back with her report soon enough. " Cole gave her a nod.**

**" Has the plague hit the city yet? " Cole asked in a cold voice.**

**" No. The city is mostly clean, they're some openings that the plague could enter through but it's all very unlikely. You**

**know? We could just leave this city alone, and re-build now. It's not like any of these conduits -need- curing. " Kuo**

**nervously suggested.**

**Cole looked at her with a cold expression.**

**" No. You said it yourself, the plague still has possibilities of entering the city. I won't let anymore people die that**

**already have. Besides! This city operates on ignorance that we're just mere weather storms that have destroyed the world.**

**They are led by a corrupt leader and a liar! They need a strong force to wake them from their long slumber. I won't let**

**any conduits live under the lies of man. " Cole exclaimed almost yelling.**

**Kuo nodded and hesitantly agreed with him. She noticed a small blur coming towards them. " Here comes Raven. "**

**A small bird zipped through the skies and landed directly in front of Cole himself. The bird started to grow and take on a**

**human form. A women soon stepped forward to greet Kuo and Cole. She was dark skinned and had beads all along her hair. She**

**dressed in a very voodoo like outfit. She also had the extraordinary ability to sense conduits.**

**" Report Raven? " Kuo asked.**

**" I've checked the city up, down, left and right. I've seen many potential conduits, some strong and some weak. The city**

**is crawling with them. "**

**" Any form of police? "**

**" There are many guards that patrol the area. All of 'em are heavily equipped and dangerous, but from what I can tell most**

**of them don't know how to fire a gun. Amateurs. " She laughed sinisterly.**

**Cole took a step back. " I want this to be quick and clean. We go in, take out any resistance at the gates quickly and**

**quietly. Activate as many conduits as we can and get out. Like what we did in London 2 years back. " Cole ignited a small**

**lightning grenade in his hand. " Okay. Let's go."**

**A/N: Okay! That was quite a long chapter. I hope the story was interesting and hooked many of you in. I know the first**

**chapter can be bland and boring since most of it is introductory. But, I tried to make this as interesting as possible.**

**Leave reviews and be as harsh as this story deserves. I'd love to improve my writing ability. I promise the story will**

**pick up in the next few chapters! Due to an editing problem. The paragraphs got all buggy and some words may have been jumbeled. I am sorry.**


	2. Regret

**A/N: Sorry guys! Work and other things kept me from releasing the 2nd**** chapter! But, here we are, hopefully you're all still there.. I hope.**

_**The twilight scene set fire to the sky. Strips of red and pink littered the sky in a beautiful mixture of paint. It looked like a dog's breakfast, but in a beautiful way. The city of Tera'Blay now almost completely silent as the curfew went into effect and guards bullied people back to their homes. All but one such high school that was let open for the graduations. However that story is for a little later on. Cole began his descent. **_

Cole raced across the small valley of land ahead of the tree-line, jumping over a stray log and crushed car. Kuo and Raven at his flank as he climbed the crumbling wall of Tera'Blay, flipping over the front and scanning the area over for guards.

" Quick, clean, quiet." Cole spoke, his voice ripping across the sky like a sharp wind.

"There!" Kuo remarked as she fired a large ice chunk, impaling a passing guard in the chest. Killing him instantly.

The three ran across the walk picking off guard by guard. Not a single bullet fired.

"This is too easy! Why Canada? Why not Russia! That was -way- more fun then this city!" Raven complained as she tore out the insides of a helpless, unsuspecting guard.

"Yes! I'm sure the CONDUIT hunter would be way more fun then this. Or do you need another bullet to take a hint?" Kuo shot back, venom in her words.

Raven rubbed a scar across the left side of her cheek, obviously a bullet mark that had grazed her skin. "Don't talk about him in my presence you bitch! If it wasn't for me you'd be two pieces back in Sweden!" Raven stomped her foot, almost yelling.

"Both of you! Shut-" Cole stumbled back in pain as he grasped his shoulder. He grinded his teeth as power began to emit from his whole body.

Just a few meters away was a guard. Clearly scared out of his mind as he trembled with sweat dripping off of his nose. He had saw the whole scene of guards being ripped apart, he opened his mouth as if to speak but nothing came out. He stood there speechless, it was a wonder he could even gather the strength to fire the bullet at Cole. Kuo and Raven both looked up at him simultaneously and gave a glare. The guard let out a scream and began to fire his gun like a mad-man, most of his bullets missing, though it did alert most of the guards.

Guards rushed to their position as bullets began to flare the wall into a war-zone. No one was really sure what they were firing at yet they were firing bullets like no tomorrow. Cole fired several quick shots of lightning while being as precise and silent as possible. Picking off the more heavily armed guards and taking cover when needed. Kuo wasted no time in freezing all armed guards around him and firing herself forwards, pinning the first initial guard to the floor. She readied a large ice spike to be fired between his eyes, the fear in his eyes begged her to spare him. The spike fell to the floor and shattered violently! Her hand had been grabbed and stopped her flow of energy that she had filtering her powers. No guard would dare approach her without firing a flurry of bullets into her flesh- So who had dared? It was Raven. Raven managed to throw Kuo backwards with great force, letting her slide across the floor gently.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Kuo asked as she got to her feet.

Raven punched the guard out cold, possibly breaking his nose. Cole finished off the remaining guards with various flurries of lightning and fire.

"So much for a stealthy approach." Cole growled.

"A conduit." Raven remarked as she ran her finger across the passed out guard. " A weak one.. But, a conduit non the less."

Cole looked out over the city, sheer hatred in his eyes. " Let's give these guys a little wake up call." He laughed out as he grabbed the man's head.

Alarms perked up all over the city as guards began screaming orders at each other and lights of various buildings flickered on, shadows of families looking out the windows.

Cole focused his power onto the man, memories of both his and the guard's flowed through him as pure power began to emit from them both. Raven and Kuo zipped off in a quick panic. Everything mustered up inside of Cole; Anger, Sorrow, hatred.. Then something odd.. Regret? Cole's focus was thrown off as the screams of dying throughout the world seemed to all scream out at once. The screams got louder until it turned to pain- Cole himself yelled out in pain. Then he let go.

A huge surge of energy explode across the wall of Tera'Blay. Screams of agony and fear filled the city as guards themselves began to retreat away. Fire ripping across the sky as electrical storms seemed to pop up almost instantaneously. The screams of panic emerging from the city grew almost ten-fold. The city lost power almost immediately as the power surge ended, district my district. Pitch black.

Cole fell to his knees before a large hole in the wall and falling rubble crackled before him. The conduit he was supposed to activate was no where in sight- just a strayed pile of ash. Kuo zipped on next to him with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you.. Are you okay?" She asked as she scanned over the rubble for the supposed conduit.

"Something went wrong.. " Cole said groggily as he leaned up.

"Where is the guard? Is he-"

" Gone." Raven smirked to herself as she landed next to Kuo.

"It won't happen again.. I need to lay down. Raven, take a group of hunters and round up as many Conduits as you can find. Bring them back to me- I'll be at the camp. " Cole barely managed out as he limped off. Trying not to show weakness, But Cole knew it. He had slipped up, his emotions got in the way of what he was supposed to do. He didn't know why or how, it just happened. He grunted to himself- Feeling powerless due to the lack of electricity in the area. Cole managed his way down the wall and off into the woods.

_As for me? Well, Imagine this. Taking that glorious little piece of paper and accepting my diploma in front of my loving parents and family. Flanked by my friends. All with looks of happiness and approval, Love and affection. Possibly the greatest moment of my life in this hell-hole we call a city. Now picture the entire building shaking as the foundation of the place cracked free! Fire ripping throughout the sky and blowing our windows clear off the shatters. People screaming and crying! Lightning striking all around us outside. If that weren't enough, guards firing in the air in complete panic didn't help much with our public safety. Parents rushing to save kids, people crushed by falling debris from the building itself. _

_It all came to a quick and easy, calm stop. People came out of hiding and looked around. The power went out- BOOM! Pitch black. Just like that. But, that is where our story really begins. When I become activated._

**A/n: Sorry so short! I tried to edit out the bugs and typos. Be as harsh as you want! Please! More to come, short chapter to show that I'm back ;3. **


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